Iran To Buy 100 Boeing Airliners: Iranian Aviation Official

The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, in this April 24, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/JIM YOUNG

Iran has reached an agreement with U.S. planemaker Boeing to buy 100 planes, and the two sides are awaiting approval by U.S. Treasury authorities, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation said in remarks published by a state-run Iranian newspaper on Sunday.

"Of the 250 (passenger) planes in Iran, 230 have to be replaces," Ali Abedzadeh told the daily Iran, adding that a written agreement had been signed with Boeing to buy 100 aircraft.

So far, Boeing has only been granted permission to present its products to Iranair and a handful of other airlines as it tries to catch up with Europe's Airbus, which earlier this year won a provisional deal for 118 jets worth $27 billion.

Reuters reported on June 6 that Iran was edging toward a historic deal to buy jetliners from Boeing for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and that a deal for more than 100 aircraft could be reached fairly soon.